rifraf wrote:My cheeky quip "a tear to Ronk eye" was more to do with following in the spirit of your weight mantra (compared to mine) and not a suggestion that you might like the microlight as I know your very happy with your Soulo.

Yeah, got that - but had no effect on me because I don't slavishly follow an ultralight mantra. Ultralight is only good if the inevitable compromises are acceptable.

Hi BagelonabikeMy Cascade pack, still in great nick, is from around that same era.Macpac put on some new harness straps a couple of years back for me and it was a speedy and cheap service.

I personally think you'll be fine with the microlight. I've taken Ronks point about wind and the single pole however and I think it would be wise to point the rear into the wind and use all the guy ropes if its more than just breezy.

My wild camping experiences riding from NSW to Perth suggest its easier to find a pitch for a small then rather than a large tent. Many is the night I was glad for having my bivybag and tarp as I reached my milage limit where, the only sleeping spots were in areas of tightly spaced scrub.

When visiting the Macpac shop in Perth, I thought hard about my choice of Minaret, and if I hadnt been buying the new bivybag as well, would have opted I think for the microlight. I'm still seriously looking at the Microlight as an option for shorter trips where I want the luxury of a tent but without the bulk of the heavier 2 man Minaret.

I recently put my old Minaret (17yr approx I think) on gumtree. As it wasnt green I'd only ever used it once, recently on a trip with Aushiker. I was amazed at the response for the old tent and that someone in Queensland wanted to buy it and pay the shipping. I had a hell of a lot of emails and calls with people keen on it.

I have yet to christen the new bivybag or Minaret tent yet but am hoping to put them to the test when my Ogre is complete.

Let us know how you get on with the Microlight and your impressions.I've always been happy with my Macpac gear and with their service, so anticipate you being happy with yours. Any problems or issues talk to blacksheep (Cambell) on http://bushwalk.com/forum/index.phpHappy spinning.

I thought I'd better retract that last suggestion about contacting Cambell about Macpac issues as he is now no longer associated with Macpac.I have no opinions on the hows or whys of the matter but hope there is a worthy substitute as I found Cambell an extremely helpful and professional person to deal with regarding all matters Macpac and one hell of an ambassador for the company. I'm sure his loss will be felt at Macpac and he'll be a hard pair of shoes to fill. As a customer and aficionado of their gear, I hope they try hard to fill them.

On another note, despite lots of good advice to the contrary, I couldn't resist a special low price offer of a Microlight tent which I picked up today from the Perth store. I've been wanting to try a "light" (I didnt define how light Andrew - lol), well lighter than my Minaret with a smaller floor-size due to my remembering thinking about pitch issues in scrubby areas which I found abounded on the roadside during my NSW to WA tour.Lots of areas I camped at just weren't suitable for a 2 man tent due to numerous plants/scrubs etc.Not sure how suitable for the job my new Microlight will turn out to be but I dont think I'll lose much dosh if I choose to sell it after a trial run, assuming I don't damage it. The biggest drawcard to me is the after market service I've always received from Macpac in the past and recent present. Its my confidence in any wrongs being put right in a timely manner (even here in WA )

That aside, Mainpeak are having a sale (well they are in WA) with 50% off stickers on all the Mont gear.

Campsaver.com might be worth a current look with according to a post on Bushwalk, "Restricted Brands: Western Mountaineering, Hilleberg, Arc'teryx. 20% off on full price and additonal 20% off outlet use code : loyalty20

How are you liking that tent? I tend to buy cheaper alternatives but have to replace them. Think I might save up to upgrade all my gear so they last long like u said. Although sometimes you get lucky with the cheap stuff lasting far longer than u expect -- expensive does not always mean better -- learnt the hard way.

How are you liking that tent? I tend to buy cheaper alternatives but have to replace them. Think I might save up to upgrade all my gear so they last long like u said. Although sometimes you get lucky with the cheap stuff lasting far longer than u expect -- expensive does not always mean better -- learnt the hard way.

Hi Misterios,welcome to the forum Dont just do things I say as I'm as likely to get things wrong as anybody else.I try to throw out ideas in here to get a consensus of educated opinions, or at least some with experience,and then see if it gels with my gut feeling.Theres a wealth of experience and opinions in here and many of them will work for you on some level.Theres some good logic used often and sometimes a side of the equation will be put that you've not considered.The good thing is gear is getting better and lighter all the time making touring more and more a joy.Happy spinning

rifraf wrote:Hi BagelonabikeMy Cascade pack, still in great nick, is from around that same era.Macpac put on some new harness straps a couple of years back for me and it was a speedy and cheap service.

I personally think you'll be fine with the microlight. I've taken Ronks point about wind and the single pole however and I think it would be wise to point the rear into the wind and use all the guy ropes if its more than just breezy.

My wild camping experiences riding from NSW to Perth suggest its easier to find a pitch for a small then rather than a large tent. Many is the night I was glad for having my bivybag and tarp as I reached my milage limit where, the only sleeping spots were in areas of tightly spaced scrub.

When visiting the Macpac shop in Perth, I thought hard about my choice of Minaret, and if I hadnt been buying the new bivybag as well, would have opted I think for the microlight. I'm still seriously looking at the Microlight as an option for shorter trips where I want the luxury of a tent but without the bulk of the heavier 2 man Minaret.

I recently put my old Minaret (17yr approx I think) on gumtree. As it wasnt green I'd only ever used it once, recently on a trip with Aushiker. I was amazed at the response for the old tent and that someone in Queensland wanted to buy it and pay the shipping. I had a hell of a lot of emails and calls with people keen on it.

I have yet to christen the new bivybag or Minaret tent yet but am hoping to put them to the test when my Ogre is complete.

Let us know how you get on with the Microlight and your impressions.I've always been happy with my Macpac gear and with their service, so anticipate you being happy with yours. Any problems or issues talk to blacksheep (Cambell) on http://bushwalk.com/forum/index.phpHappy spinning.

Hi Rifraf, I just finished my SA/Vic tour and had 5 nights in the new tent. It faired up well, though never really got tested by foul weather as I was lucky in that aspect! I got the 1 person Microlight and I did find it very small...of course. If the tent is wet, its difficult to get in and out of without getting some drips/ run off inside as you open the outer fly flap.

But so far so good...and I'm sure they will be plenty more tests to come

bagelonabike wrote:Hi Rifraf, I just finished my SA/Vic tour and had 5 nights in the new tent. It faired up well, though never really got tested by foul weather as I was lucky in that aspect! I got the 1 person Microlight and I did find it very small...of course. If the tent is wet, its difficult to get in and out of without getting some drips/ run off inside as you open the outer fly flap.

But so far so good...and I'm sure they will be plenty more tests to come

The bivy bag option looks really good for free camping...

Hi Bagelonabike,yeah I got the impression it was a bit of a contortion act getting in and out of the Microlight but I bought one anyway.

The Macrolight (2 person) didnt appear to be as good a bang for buck as I thought it being too close to the Minarets size (which I already have and think a more suitable tent for myself).

A tent is definitely more fun in the rain than a bivybag but its amazing what you can find to string a tarp over yourself in the bivy. Also lowering the string/tarp to a breath above you also keeps some heat in ( with of course the caveat of remembering to have any breeze hitting you side on rather than open end on - amazing what you'll forget when your tired and just want to sleep).

Another beauty of the bivy is where you can get away with sleeping without being noticed.

I've yet to test any of my new gear but with the new bike nearly finished I can definitely feel "the call".

Definitely a MSR Miniworks waterfilter. A closed cell sleeping mat after doing some more research on them.Got sick to death of punctures on the self inflating one.Still yet to get a head-light for reading in the tent.Footprint for the tent or maybe just replace the well worn tarps I already own.Oh and I want one of those Helonix seats that break down. So over sitting on the ground, or more to the point, of having to get back up again.I want a hood for my showers pass jacket too.Theres bound to be more but I've been concentrating on bike parts for a long time with my Ogre build and not had time to consider anything else.

You want a showerspass hood?I have one, found that as soon as you put a helmet on it UGH fiddle fiddle fiddle just trying to see as the front of the hood juts out to protect your eyes from falling rain, but the helmet scrunches that up.I ended up getting something for my helmet instead.cheapest one is a plastic bag, then a shower cap

Oh not for cycling but for around camp where I dont want to be wearing a helmet just to keep my head dry.I have the Showers Pass helmet cover for riding in and think its a great little product as long as the Perth wind isnt up and threatening to rip it off your helmet and blow it to kindom come or some such place.

rifraf wrote:Oh not for cycling but for around camp where I dont want to be wearing a helmet just to keep my head dry.I have the Showers Pass helmet cover for riding in and think its a great little product as long as the Perth wind isnt up and threatening to rip it off your helmet and blow it to kindom come or some such place.

If you had mentioned it, I could have put mine in with the post with the handlebar extender - it's too bloody hot and uncomfortable for me. On the bike I use a Tiaga helmet cover, much better than the SP version as it has a long flap to stop the rain going down the back of my neck. Off the bike I just use my trekking rain hat.

RonK wrote:If you had mentioned it, I could have put mine in with the post with the handlebar extender - it's too bloody hot and uncomfortable for me. On the bike I use a Tiaga helmet cover, much better than the SP version as it has a long flap to stop the rain going down the back of my neck. Off the bike I just use my trekking rain hat.

I shall wait till pay day and make you an offer if your sure you no longer have a use for it.It would take too long for me to write you up a list of all the goodies I want so I should just send you a prepaid bin bag? Or maybe send a removals van.

Awaiting my at long last ordered Petzl Tikka 2 xp from Wiggle for $51.91 with a smaller Trangia bottle which I didnt think was too bad at $15.98.I'm hoping it might fit in my bottle cage as my 1 liter doesn't want to and I didn't want to force it.I needed a torquewrench so grabbed one of their BBB BTL-73's for $69.15.A Surly tugnut for wheel alignment and a spare Thomson seatpost bolt kit meant I got an extra discount which I think was 12% list price which I think equated to 11 pound.

Wiggle package arrived safely today.Well I say safely, I mean nothing missing, no thanks to the sidesplit packaging courtesy no doubtof rough handling from transportation to me.No matter, as everything was intact and complete.I like my Tikka xp2.The smaller Trangia bottle was a waste as its way too small for my bottle cage so I'll have to try a bit of brute force and ignorance to make the larger one fit - mostly ignorance.Still it means a pannier carried smaller and lighter bottle for shorter trips and weekends away.Tuggnut is on the bike (JHC - Surly know how to make a wheel change complicated).Spare seatpost bolk kit is tucked away amongst spares and I'll be playing at being torquewrench king later in the day.

rifraf wrote:Tuggnut is on the bike (JHC - Surly know how to make a wheel change complicated).

I watched when you were putting it on initially. OMGosh that was not fun. All the surly fatbikes have them I've noticed so I'm not going to enjoy wheel changes as well, unless there is an easier way with the tuggnut

Well its two tuggnuts on now so twice the fun.I'll be able to open two bottles now at the same time I think I'll need them after struggling with a wheel change although I'll probably be feeling like a gurgle from a hipflask

Just this minute won a Petzl Core usb rechargeable battery on ebay for the Tikka XP2. Looks like a decent score for $15.50 considering they seem to ask over $60 in the shops for what appears to be the same thing.The combo is well below what I would have paid for light with battery in the single package.I've left a link to the Core batteries in the "Which Headlight" thread.

aldi has a tent($70) and down sleeping bag($100) starting from tomorrow morning, i have seen both of these firsthand and they are both excepional value for money and decent quality.no doubt they will sell out quickly though

Baalzamon wrote:You want a showerspass hood?I have one, found that as soon as you put a helmet on it UGH fiddle fiddle fiddle just trying to see as the front of the hood juts out to protect your eyes from falling rain, but the helmet scrunches that up.I ended up getting something for my helmet instead.cheapest one is a plastic bag, then a shower cap

+1 for the shower-cap

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

I picked up a medium sized Downmat 7, not the ultralight version so hopefully a little bit more durable, for $100.00.I've been hesitant toward buying one of these for a while now having read of delamination and deflation problems.I hope it lasts. My Thermarest has been going strong since 1989.